Alexa Kissinger is a student at Harvard Law School.
The Wall Street Journal covered the national movement being waged against Walmart in China. Disgruntled workers, who complain of low wages and a new scheduling system that has left them poorer and exhausted, are protesting across the country. Bypassing official unions controlled by the Communist Party, the workers are using social media to coordinate their actions. A fifth of Walmart’s Chinese work force has joined the messaging group WeChat, and Walmart has discouraged its workers from downloading another app called WorkIt. Walmart has instructed store managers to tell employees WorkIt wasn’t made by the company and are describing it as a scheme to gather workers’ personal information. According to the Wall Street Journal, the government, which appears to be keeping a distance, seems worried about provoking backlash or being seen as acting on behalf of a prominent American company and against Chinese workers at a time of rising Chinese nationalism.
The EEOC issued it’s fiscal year 16 performance report, finding the Commission secured more than $482.1 million for victims of discrimination in private, state and local government, and federal workplaces in the last year. In addition to other accomplishments, the EEOC completed 15,800 charges of discrimination through administrative processes-settlements, mediations, and conciliations. The EEOC also resolved 273 systemic investigations before filing litigation, obtaining more than $20.3 million in remedies. Through litigation, the EEOC resolved 21 systemic cases, six of which included at least 50 victims of discrimination and two of which included over 1,000 victims of discrimination. The report also touted outreach and other resources the Commission provided throughout the year.
After the most recent election, Arizona and Washington will become the latest to join the ever-expanding list of states with measures requiring employers to provide eligible employees with paid sick leave. Both measures entitle employees to accrue paid leave for their own medical needs, those of certain family members, and other covered purposes. Both measures define “covered family member” fairly broadly, and also allow employers to require a 90 day waiting period after an employee begins a new job before using leave.
The Times Higher Education released its sixth annual list of which schools produce graduates most sought-after by employers. Universities in the United States dominated this year’s results, with six of the top ten schools whose graduates are most sought after by hiring managers based in the U.S. See the full rankings here.
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November 21
The “Big Three” record labels make a deal with an AI music streaming startup; 30 stores join the now week-old Starbucks Workers United strike; and the Mine Safety and Health Administration draws scrutiny over a recent worker death.
November 20
Law professors file brief in Slaughter; New York appeals court hears arguments about blog post firing; Senate committee delays consideration of NLRB nominee.
November 19
A federal judge blocks the Trump administration’s efforts to cancel the collective bargaining rights of workers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media; Representative Jared Golden secures 218 signatures for a bill that would repeal a Trump administration executive order stripping federal workers of their collective bargaining rights; and Dallas residents sue the City of Dallas in hopes of declaring hundreds of ordinances that ban bias against LGBTQ+ individuals void.
November 18
A federal judge pressed DOJ lawyers to define “illegal” DEI programs; Peco Foods prevails in ERISA challenge over 401(k) forfeitures; D.C. court restores collective bargaining rights for Voice of America workers; Rep. Jared Golden secures House vote on restoring federal workers' union rights.
November 17
Justices receive petition to resolve FLSA circuit split, vaccine religious discrimination plaintiffs lose ground, and NJ sues Amazon over misclassification.
November 16
Boeing workers in St. Louis end a 102-day strike, unionized Starbucks baristas launch a new strike, and Illinois seeks to expand protections for immigrant workers